Disney is asking YouTube TV to restore ABC in time for Election Day. The two companies are currently locked in a carriage dispute that has resulted in a variety of Disney-owned channels being dropped from the YouTube TV lineup.
Key Takeaways
- Citing public interest, Disney is urging YouTube TV to temporarily restore ABC to its lineup for Election Day.
- If ABC is reinstated, there’s no expectation that other Disney-owned channels will be made available before a broader agreement is reached.
- Both companies blame each other for the breakdown in negotiations, with Disney accusing YouTube TV of taking an aggressive approach, and YouTube TV claiming Disney is demanding unfair rate increases.
Disney-owned channels were officially removed from YouTube TV late on October 30th, and subscribers have remained without access to them since then.
Ahead of Election Day tomorrow, and with no sign of a new deal being agreed in time, Disney is now appealing to YouTube to make ABC available again, even if only on a temporary basis.
In a statement given to select news outlets, including Variety, Disney cited “putting the public interest first” as more important and asking YouTube TV to take the “small step” in making it happen by restoring the channel.
YouTube TV has yet to comment on whether ABC will be restored to its lineup.
In a memo to employees last week, Disney accused YouTube TV of taking an aggressive approach to negotiations, even claiming it was YouTube TV who actively pulled the disputed channels before the official deadline.
From its perspective, YouTube TV continues to accuse Disney of wanting to unfairly increase rates, suggesting that agreeing to Disney’s terms would ultimately result in subscribers paying more for their subscription.
YouTube TV also seems to be somewhat unhappy with Disney’s terms seemingly benefitting Hulu Live TV and Fubo. Both of which are now owned by Disney, following last week’s competition of the merging of the Hulu Live TV and Fubo businesses.
While it remains unclear whether ABC will be restored in time for Election Day, it would only be ABC that’s returns. There’s currently no suggestion or expectation that any of the other affected Disney channels would become temporarily available as well.
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